Circa | The Prince

Circa | The Prince

duck parfait w. brioche and pepper gel

QLD spanner crab w. crayfish emulsion + sorrel

Coal roasted squid w. eggplant & black garlic aioli

Flinder's Island lamb with fennel, green tomato + salt bush

Wagyu from Robbins Island w. mustard, marrow & onion juice

pyengana aged cheddar with carrot & brioche

chocolate mousse with strawberry & toasted meringue

Circa is a restaurant with great ambiance and perfect for those who not only eats the food but also the interior. Upon arriving you would see a lounge before walking into the clean cut dining area. At 8:30pm on an Easter Sunday, the restaurant was less than packed, no loud music, perfect for an overdue catch up between friends. The dining area was humbly sized, close spacing between tables but it didn't feel suffocating. Rather, the atmosphere was fairly cozy with the use of wood and white furnishing, small table candles and dim lighting.

We had a party of five and all famished by the time we reached there, so naturally ('naaaaaaatuuraaally') we each ordered the Chef's Selection with two bottles of wine shared between us. It was a long weekend, why not splurge?              Right?

The sommelier was attentive and friendly, we're not exactly 'experts' in the category of wine. However, the wines she suggested matched perfectly well with our taste buds and the flavours of our course. Fruity white wine to match the first three course of the selection and a dry, light red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon) to go with the red meat as the course progress.

Our meal started with a roll of smoky bread each served with butter (sprinkled with black truffle) and a plate of duck parfait with brioche and pepper gel. The duck parfait was rich in texture and taste, goes well with the bread too! QLD spanner crab with crayfish emulsion and sorrel, the second dish, was very attractive to the eyes and lens, my phone camera loved it. The colour of the dish was very vibrant, the greeness of the olive oil floated around the saltiness of the crab, the red of the sweet strawberries and scatter of baby purple flowers. If there could be genders to dishes, it would definitely be female. Though easy on the eyes, it was a very salty dish, very salty. The sweetness of the strawberries did help combat it it though. Our third course was the coal roasted squid with eggplant & black garlic aioli. It wasn't the most memorable dish of the course but the taste was well accepted among our group and the spark of chilli woken up our taste buds for the next course.

On to the meat of the meal! We started off with Flinder's Island lamb with fennel, green tomato and salt bush. The lamb was cooked perfectly and there were no traces of gaminess. We all enjoyed the taste of the lamb oh so very much, now if only they served this dish in a more practical plate. It was served in a very pretty yet simple and organic, light pale turquoise bowl. Unfortunately none of us were blessed with a long torso so cutting a piece of it was rather tiring with our elbows awkwardly sticking up and out while sawing the meat. We tried completing this task with as much grace as we could muster, wasn't too bad an attempt at all if I may say so myself. Our last main consist of the Wagyu from Robbins Island with mustard, marrow & onion juice. The wagyu was tender and juicy paired well with the caramalised onion. Ultimate last savoury dish of the course. 

The last chapter of the course comprise of the Pyengana aged cheddar with carrot & brioche and the Chocolate mousse with strawberry & toasted meringue. Don't be fooled by how savoury the cheese looks, looks can be deceiving. The cheddar was strong alone but mixed deliciously well with the sweet carrot relish (concealed by the cheddar in the photo). It wasn't exactly made fit to everyone's taste. Two of our friends actually couldn't stand the strong taste of the cheese and cringed at how it looked savoury but tasted sweet. So the other three of us happily finished it off for them (oink oink). The chocolate mousse wasn't bad but there wasn't exactly anything outstanding about it. It was however, the perfect end to the course. There's no way you can go wrong with ending a meal with chocolate after all.

Circa definitely impress in terms of the simple yet sophisticated interior and friendly staffs. It's an atmospheric restaurant good for catch up between groups of friends or family, as I've noticed most of their tables were ready for medium to big groups of people. Having said that, don't expect a quick lunch or dinner here. Although the food was supposed to be inspired by Asian flavours, it was a rather subtle. The course left us with very satisfied bellies (+ empty wallets $$$) and in a happy disposition. Definitely worth a visit.


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Address:  2 Acland St
                St Kilda, Melbourne, Australia
Tel:          (03) 9536-1122
Email:      dining@circa.com.au 
Opening:  Mon-Sun
                12pm-Late
Web:        http://www.circa.com.au